Hey seniors, congratulations on completing your college applications!
Many of you are probably twiddling your thumbs, wondering how to pass the time while you’re waiting for admissions decisions to come back. Well, ponder no longer—I’m here to give you some advice on what to do now that you’ve applied.
First, stop thinking about your applications.
What’s done is done. Put your trust in the admissions officers who have read thousands of applications; they know best whether you will succeed at their schools. If you’ve applied to the right schools, you’ll surely be getting some good news come March. So, relax!
Second, don’t stop doing anything you were doing in the fall.
Keep your grades up, stay involved in your extracurriculars, and be a good student citizen. Your guidance counselor will be filing a “midyear report” for many of the schools to which you’ve applied, and you should remain consistent with the application you sent for a few reasons:
- If the admissions committee is iffy about your application, they’ll be happy to see good grades and continued involvement in your midyear report.
- If you get wait-listed (fingers crossed that you won’t), it will be important to show colleges that you are committed to your academics and extracurriculars.
- We’ve heard of cases in which acceptances were revoked because of a poor midyear report.
Third, do something awesome with your spring semester.
Use your spring break to do an activity you’ve always wanted to do, and don’t worry about it being a “resume-builder.” Just make sure it’s worthwhile. Learn to surf, visit your relatives abroad, or go on an adventure with your family (it may be the last vacation you can take with them for awhile).
In your remaining time in high school, leave a personal legacy at your school or in your community, spend quality time with family and friends, and share some wisdom about college applications with a current junior or two. Also, plan a fun summer activity for your last summer before college.
Fourth, be mindful about creating and reinforcing good study and time management skills.
Don’t get senioritis. College will be more demanding—both academically and socially—than high school ever was, so now is the time to get some training in. Becoming lazy now will only hurt you when you hit campus next fall.
Finally, respect and thank your teachers, do your school work, and hang out with your friends and family.
Remember, you’ll miss these people and places when you’re gone next year. So, take it all in and make the most of it.
